I'm sure we all have our favourite apps and ones that we go back to regularly, but integrating a new and functionally deep app can be time consuming and also at times detract from the creative process itself.
I'm not advocating a slow down in the flow of innovation in any way, but I think that some times we can get lost in playing with a new toy instead of keeping the focus on actually making music. Whilst there's nothing wrong with playing, nothing at all, in fact it can often lead to real inspiration, there's a balance to be struck between the two.
So is it just me?
10 comments:
Sure, i'd like to see some focus on individual apps...
I suppose both! I don't really care about news about apps that suck, so I kinda read the news, then wait for the good stuff to become popular.
as for the popular apps, I like seeing more in-depth tutorials (vids, please). I generally follow the comments to decide if a new app is worthy of purchase or not.
I suppose that is a valid point. I wrote earlier that it's been a slow week for new apps yet I have about seven new apps that I've literally spent no more then 10 minutes in each since purchase.
I do feel there is a point of overload. When the options become so vast that it becomes hard to dial back your own scope of the project at hand and actually produce something as a whole.
I should take this time to sit down with a few of the newer apps I've got and really push the most out of them while combining some of my favorite most used apps in the process.
The reason I was drawn to the iPad in the first place was the limited space to work in really made me put things down fast and move to the next part. Now my iPad has become one giant DAW with many facets of workspace it's hard to settle down in one long enough to create.
Good topic....
I do buy all of the apps that I like and I try to get a good general grasp of them. To me though it also has a positive aspect, the quite large offering of apps, I can jump from instrument to instrument and in that way stay inspired and not get bored as quickly.
one other thing that comes to mind is that I personally think that on the ipad, some of the best music instruments/programs are being made, there's quite a little boom of creativity. when this happens, generally a few years later people look back and say "wow, there were a lot of cool instruments on the ipad". and after the Ipad has gone people start to get back in to it and have the time to really get everything out of the apps.
I think there are enough apps out there that a few clusters of people will realy delve deeply into each one of them. The guy who made that digital EP in NodeBeat, for example.
I personally like to try as many apps as I can because I don't want to be constrained to one sound, but in a way, that means I've been going about it all wrong. The bigger chalenge seems to be delving deep into an app and making it sound nothing like it did when you first install it.
find something u like & exploit it all the way u can
Good question! I far prefer the more basic apps to the more complex DAW type apps. The problem with apps like Tabletop, Sunvox and Beatmaker etc is that they force you to stay within the app. I think Tabletop is hoping to break out of that somehow, but I don't really see that happening, because Tabletop also forces you to work in in certain way, their way.
I think the trick with the iPad as a musical instrument is to use it alongside a recording device such as a portastudio or another computer. Apps have become a bit like records to me. I play them for a while and wait in anticipation for the next one to come along. I suppose I've become a good little consumer?! ;)
I been thinking about this for a while, probably since you asked the question about how much we use the App Store Links. (too much!)
Currently the position with new Apps on iOS feels very similar to the period when VST's and Audio Units became available in large quantities for DAW's. Theres was a temptation to become a Plug-in collector rather than a musician, only ever scratching the surface of what each instrument or effect could do before moving on to the next.
I think that I'm fast approaching App over-load.... but still having trouble resisting the temptation to buy as more cool new features appear!
Tom's point about instrument or environment is a really interesting one. I don't think that there is a right answer about the direction the device needs to take in this respect, it's really for individuals to decide. Trying however to cram the creativity of some of the instrument Apps into some of the studio environments probably does effect your ability to use them as instruments. I suspect however that the shear number of them and the speed of their evolution stops most of even trying to build our ability to play most Apps in the way we would approach a physical instrument.
@freesoulvw. I agree totally, I'm loving all the apps and support, but I also love simplicity and ease of use. I also like having strict limitations, as this makes me think more creatively and focused to the task. It's a fine line between workflow and workflow LOL.
Hi
here a view from the dev's side:
I hear more and more feedback from users like this one:
"I really like your app and want to get more and
deeper into it. But if I do so, I want to be sure that the
app will be supported the next 10 years. I really hate
to base my creative work on software, which I learn all
the way down to the deepest features, just to find out
that the dev stopped supporting it after a few months."
Be assured, NLog will be supported for the future, but
I think what is needed is a kind of "contract" between
users and devs, where users are assured to have
the app supported and updated for the next years,
and devs find a way to make a living from that.
The current App Store model lacking update pricing
does not support this which is a big problem.
Maybe there are better ways of update pricing, so
if anyone has some opinions & ideas I really like to hear!
Best
Rolf
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